Putin blames Ukraine for loss of Flight MH17 with 298 innocent souls but DOESN'T deny Russian separatists shot it down with missile - as McCain warns there will be 'Hell to pay'

Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 shot down over territory held by Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed the Ukrainians for not having 'peace' in the land

But he did not deny that pro-Kremlin separatists brought down the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur

U.S. Senator John McCain said there would be 'Hell to pay' if this was the case

Ukrainians called it 'terrorism' and released a recording between a fighter they claimed was a Russian Intelligence Officer and a separatist who apparently shot down the plane and admitted it was 'civilian'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Ukraine for the Malaysian Airlines tragedy that claimed the lives of all 298 people on board, including around 100 children - but didn't deny Russian-backed separatists were to blame for shooting it out of the sky.

Flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200 aircraft on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, exploded into flames at 33,000ft as it was hit by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile over territory near Donetsk held by pro-Russian rebels.

Dutch authorities have said that at least nine Britons, 154 Dutch, 27 Australians were among the dead. The nationalities of 41 people on board have not been confirmed. Earlier it was feared that 23 Americans had perished based on a Reuters report, but there has been no confirmation of any U.S. deaths since then from the State Department.

As shocking pictures of bodies and debris
emerged, the tragedy sparked a full-blown international crisis last
night, increasing tension between Moscow and Washington.

Mr Putin said: 'This
tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the
military actions had not been renewed in south-east Ukraine. And,
certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears
responsibility for this awful tragedy.'

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Airliner downed: Assault rifles in hand, four pro-Russian separatists survey the smouldering wreckage of a passenger jet destryoed by a missile in war-torn Ukraine

'Unspeakable horror': Emergency workers survey the wreckage of flight MH17, which came down in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine

DEATH TOLL SO FAR:

President Petro Poroshenko called the downing an act of terrorism as he
called for an international investigation into the crash.

A Ukrainian
newspaper published what it said was recordings of phone
conversations, firstly between Russian intelligence officers and secondly between separatist commanders. They have not been independently verified.

In the first, Igor Bezler, who the Ukrainians claim is a Russian intelligence officer and leading commander of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, tells a commander: 'We have just shot down a plane' about '30 minutes ago'.

In the second, more detailed recording, a rebel nicknamed ‘Major’ says the Malaysian Airlines
jet was shot down by ‘Cossacks from the Chernukhino roadblock’ adding:
‘It is definitely a civilian plane... there was a lot of people on
board.’

'Major' tells a comrade with the codename 'Greek' it was '100 per cent a passenger (civilian) aircraft'.

Greek asked: 'What kind of aircraft?' to which Major responded: 'I haven’t ascertained this. I haven’t been to the main site. I am only surveying the scene where the first bodies fell. There are the remains of internal brackets, seats and bodies.'

Greek, still hoping at that point a military craft had been downed, said: 'Is there anything left of the weapon?'

A Dutch passenger posted a haunting Facebook picture just moments before he boarded the doomed plane.

Cor Pan, who is listed on the social media site as living in Volendam in North Holland, uploaded the picture of the aircraft with the caption: ‘If it disappears, this is what it looks like.’

The comment is believed to have been a reference to Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March.

Cor Pan (right) is believed to have posted this picture of the Malaysian Airlines plane (left) with the caption 'If it disappears, this is what it looks like' just moments before the doomed plane took off from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport

After seeing the photo friends initially went along with the joke and wished him a good trip, but their messages quickly turned frantic when news of the crash emerged.

Posting underneath the picture they asked whether his flight was the one that had gone down and said that they were praying that it wasn’t true.

154 Dutch nationals were reportedly on board the doomed aircraft, according to Malaysian Airlines.

Officials
for the Obama administration - which had only yesterday stepped up
sanctions against Russia for backing the separatists - confirmed the
plane was hit by a single missile while at cruising speed and U.S. Vice
President Joe Biden said that 'it was not an accident', adding it was
'blown out of the sky'.

Biden, who had talked with Ukrainian President Poroshenko on the phone,
is the most senior US official to raise the idea that the aircraft was
deliberately brought down - but he did not divulge who he thought was
responsible.

But U.S. Senator John McCain
said there 'would be hell to pay' if the plane was shot down by the
Russian military or separatists. He said: 'To leap to conclusions could
be very embarrassing... But if it is the result of either separatist or
Russian actions mistakenly believing this was a Ukrainian war plane, I
think there's going to be hell to pay and there should be'.

McCain's
suspicions were further backed up by video footage and tweets that emerged in
the aftermath of the tragedy. Rebels can be heard gleefully bragging
about bringing down the plane as a fireball rose from the debris.

Crash site: Rescue workers inspect the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane which was shot down today above Ukraine, killed all 298 people on board

Crash site: A picture taken this afternoon shows bodies amongst the wreckage of the doomed plane

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'Of course, we most likely
will give them to the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), to Moscow.
They are highly qualified experts who will be able to accurately
determine the cause of the disaster, even though it is so clear,' he
said.

Whoever has the black box will be able to control what information is released from on board before the crash.

Black
boxes are used to review information from the flight and record cockpit
chatter. They allow officials to discover if the pilot was aware of any
problems before the plane went down.

Many
were left aghast that MH17 could have been taking a short cut to save fuel over
what is effectively a war zone.

Aftermath: Remains of the plane lay scattered across the ground in Grabovo after the aircraft was shot down by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile

Loss: A relative struggles to contain his emotion as family members of the victims are taken away from Schiphol airport in a special bus tonight

In memory: A young girl places her head on a teddy bear as people light candles and place flowers in front of the Dutch Embassy in Kiev

As
relatives gathered at airports for news of missing loved ones, it
emerged that airlines had twice been warned about the risk of flying
over an area where two Ukrainian military aircraft had already been shot
down this week.

In
April, the International Civil Aviation Organisation advised carriers
to consider alternative routes after outlining ‘the possible existence
of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights’.

On
Monday, Eurocontrol – the body that coordinates all traffic across
European airspace – sent out an official note to airmen, known as a
Notam, repeating the warning and saying it ‘strongly advises’ avoiding
the airspace.

But many carriers continued to use the route because it was shorter and therefore cheaper.

Putin and US President Barack Obama were speaking by telephone in a pre-arranged call when news of the tragedy began to emerge.

Flight
MH17 had taken off from Amsterdam at lunchtime and was flying at around
33,000ft on one of the main routes from Europe to Asia when it was
struck by the missile. It came down near a poultry farm in the village
of Grabovo, an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels about 30 miles from
the Ukraine-Russia border.

Witnesses claimed to have seen bodies falling out of the stricken plane over the village of Rassypnaya. Some residents feared they were being bombed.

Aleks Noit, whose relatives live nearby, said more than a dozen corpses, some naked, were strewn around the village.

‘Wreckage
and bodies fell on the private houses in the village and near the
hospital. People in uniform collected the corpses,’ he said.

Others
described an entire field covered in debris from the plane and body
parts scattered across an area up to nine miles in diameter, suggesting the plane broke up in mid-air.

Destruction: The Boeing 777 aircraft was hit by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile over territory near Donetsk held by pro-Russian rebels who the Ukrainian government says are backed by the Kremlin

Laying the blame: The Ukrainian authorities laid the blame for the attack on the rebels by denying any responsibility for the missile launch, with President Petro Poroshenko called the downing an act of terrorism

Arrival: The self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the pro-Russian separatist 'Donetsk People's Republic' Alexander Borodai (centre) arrives on the site of the crash

Casualties: Dutch authorities have said that at least six Britons, 154 Dutch and 27 Australians were on board the doomed plane, and it is feared that up to 23 Americans and four French passengers had been killed

Picking up the pieces: Work at the crash site continued into the night, as world leaders called for a full investigation into the tragedy

Struggle: A firefighter sprays water on the flames in an attempt to extinguish the fire

Fighting the fire: Airline fuel continues to burn amongst the wreckage as night falls over the crash site

An
emergency services rescue worker said at least
100 bodies had so far been found at the scene, lying alongside broken
pieces of the wings marked with the red and blue paint used on the
airline's fleet.

'I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard
the sound of a plane and then a bang and shots. Then I saw the plane hit
the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke,' said a
witness, who gave his name only as Vladimir.

A separatist rebel
from nearby Krasnyi Luch who gave his name only as Sergei said: 'From my
balcony I saw a plane begin to descend from a great height and then
heard two explosions.'

He denied the rebels had shot the plane down.

WHY WAS FLIGHT MH17 FLYING THROUGH A WARZONE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Map to show that there are no planes flying over Ukraine 17/07/14

The airspace Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was flying in when it was shot down was not restricted, but airlines had been warned about the potential dangers, it has emerged.

The International Transport Association said that an initial assessment revealed that the airspace the aircraft was traveling through was 'not subject to restrictions'.

However, it emerged on Thursday that the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777-200 was flying just 300 meters above restricted airspace when it shot down

Previous to this Ukrainian authorities had barred aircraft from ground level to 32,000 feet but the downed plane was cruising at 33,000 feet, within range of ground-to-air missiles, when it was hit.

Indeed, speculation exists that the aircraft may have taken a short-cut across the disputed region of eastern Ukraine to save itself fuel.

On Monday, Eurocontrol – the body that coordinates all traffic across European airspace – sent out an official note to airmen,known as a Notam, repeating the warning and saying it ‘strongly advises’ avoiding the airspace.

But many carriers continued to use the route because it was shorter and therefore cheaper.

On July 8, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian aircraft after rebels shot a military transport aircraft that was flying over 20,000 feet.

The restriction warned commercial aircraft against using Ukrainian airspace.

Sabrina Tavernise, of the New York Times, wrote an online blog describing ‘a scene of almost unspeakable horror’.

‘Incongruously, many of the bodies strewn about in the smouldering wreckage were largely intact,’ she said.

‘A
woman in a black sweater lay on her back, blood streaming from her
face, her left arm raised as if signalling someone. Another victim,
naked except for a black bra, lay on the field, her grey hair mixing
with the green grass, one leg broken and her body torn.

‘A young boy, who looked to be around ten years old, lay on his side in a red T-shirt that read “Don’t Panic”.

‘Pieces
of the plane were scattered across the road and field, a seat back with
its television display cracked, a tail fin clearly displaying the red
and blue colours of Malaysian Airlines. One televised image showed a
travel guide for Bali, almost untouched.’

Miss Tavernise, who had
been reporting on the separatist militants from the border region of
Ukraine and Russia where the plane went down, was among the first on the
scene.

Writing on the NYT website, she said: ‘Rescue workers tied
pieces of white cloth on nearby tree branches to mark where bodies were
found.

‘Many of the victims were still in their seat belts and
attached to pieces of the plane. One man, still in his socks, but
without pants, lay akimbo on the field, his right arm placed on his
stomach, as if in repose.

Discarded: Luggage from the plane is piled up at the crash site by rescue workers performing recovery work in east Ukraine

Search: The Foreign Office is in talks with consular teams in Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur to obtain passenger lists to establish how many UK nationals were on board the plane

Action: A Whitehall source said that this evening's meeting was involving Government officials, rather than ministers, and was focused on establishing what needs to be done for any British citizens caught up in the incident

'Terrible': Twenty-three Americans are feared dead in the crash, which President Barack Obama called a 'terrible tragedy'

Noah Sneider, a Ukraine-based journalist freelancing for the New York Times, tweeted regularly from the scene.

‘At crash site of #MH17. Bodies everywhere,’ he wrote. ‘Too gruesome to post photographs. This is an absolute disaster.

‘Locals
say everything exploded in the air, fell in pieces, both bodies and
plane itself. People thought they were being bombed.’

He reported firefighters’ attempts to put out the flames on the smouldering wreckage, writing: ‘Impossible to comprehend.’

Graphic images showed a huge pall of smoke billowing into the sky, charred wreckage and many bodies.

President Barack Obama called it a 'terrible tragedy', in remarks earlier on Wednesday, which drew criticism for their brevity.

The
president spoke about the crash as he appeared in Wilmington,
Delaware on Thursday afternoon and said his national security team are
working to determine if there were any U.S. citizens on board the plane
that was carrying 295 people to Kuala Lumpur.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with all the passengers' families,' he added.

Burning: Rescue workers walk through the burning wreckage of the plane after it crashed near the town of Shaktarsk in rebel-held east Ukraine

No survivors: Witnesses say body parts are scattered over a distance of 15km, suggesting the plane broke up in mid-air

Meanwhile, the new British Foreign secretary Philip Hammond
said tonight he does not have detailed information as to the exact
number of Britons dead, or what had caused the plane to crash.

Speaking
at the Foreign Office following emergency talks with ministers and
officials, he called for an international investigation led by the
United Nations to establish exactly what happened to the aircraft.

Smoke signals: A plume of thick grey smoke rises from the spot where the Malaysia Airlines commercial plane crashed in eastern Ukraine

Insignia: The red and blue stripes which decorate the Malaysia Airlines fleet can be seen in this broken piece of the plane's exterior, as can a Malaysian flag

In pieces: Part of the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines plane lies in an otherwise deserted cornfield

Destroyed: An armed pro-Russian separatist stands at a site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region of Ukraine

Salvage operation: Emergencies Ministry members work at the crash site after the plane was shot down, killing all 295 on board

Into a war zone: The jet was flying over the crisis-hit region of Ukraine, where the authorities have accused Russia-backed separatists of previous attacks on aircraft

Catastrophic: A view of one of a crash site in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region. Witnesses said bodies were found scattered for many kilometres

DESIGNED TO PROVIDE AIR DEFENCE FOR TROOPS FACING ATTACK: WHAT IS A BUK MISSILE LAUNCHER?

The BUK missile system is a set of medium range surface-to-air missile systems which were first developed in the Soviet Union and continue to be produced by Russia.

Designed to take out cruise missiles, aircrafts, helicopters and short range ballistic missiles, they can reach altitudes of up to 15.5miles, according to the manufacturer's website.

Powerful: The BUK surface-to-air missile system (like this one) that is believed to have shot down flight MH17 is an old Soviet-built weapon designed to engage light aircraft, cruise missiles and drones

Developed by Moscow firm Almaz-Antey, they are thought to have been used during the Russian war with Georgia in the territory of South Ossetia in 2008.

The manufacturer's website, which also lists military equipment including radar and naval missile systems, displays two models of Buk launchers - the Buk-M1-2 and the Buk-M2E.

A description of the Buk-M1-2, which has an altitude target range of up to 25km (15.5 miles or 82,000ft), reads: 'The "Buk-M1-2" ADMC is designed to provide air defence for troops and facilities against attacks from current and future high-speed manoeuvring tactical and strategic aircraft, attack helicopters including hovering helicopters, and tactical ballistic, cruise, and air-to-air missiles, in conditions of heavy radio jamming and counter fire; as well as to destroy water and ground surface targets.'

Meanwhile, the Buk-M2E 'is designed to destroy tactical and strategic aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and other aerodynamic aircraft at any point in their range of operation, along with tactical ballistic and aircraft missiles, and smart air bombs in conditions of heavy enemy counter fire and radio jamming; as well as to attack water and ground surface contrast targets.'

'I'm
deeply shocked by this appalling incident and I send my heartfelt
condolences to all those who may have lost family and friends. We're
determined to get to the bottom of understanding what has happened
here,' he said.

'As
yet we do not have any definitive information about how this incident
occurred and I don't want to speculate at this stage. We believe that
there must be a UN-led international investigation of the facts.'

He
said that Britain was prepared to make Air Accident Investigation
Branch assets and specialists available to assist such an investigation.

Prime
Minister David Cameron said: 'I'm shocked and saddened by the Malaysian
air disaster. Officials from across Whitehall are meeting to establish
the facts.'

A
Whitehall source said that this meeting was involving
Government officials, rather than ministers, and was focused on
establishing what needs to be done for any British citizens caught up in
the incident.

Britain has also requested an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, the Foreign Office said.

The
Foreign Office is also in talks with consular teams in Amsterdam and
Kuala Lumpur to obtain passenger lists to establish how many UK
nationals were on board.

The missile system is an old Soviet-built weapon designed to engage light aircraft, cruise missiles and drones.

Anton Gerashenko, an aide to the
Ukrainian Interior Minister, said on his Facebook page that the plane
was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.

A similar launcher was reported by journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier yesterday.

One pro-Russia rebel leader said they now intend to call a three-day ceasefire to allow an investigation of the crash.

Rebel
leader Alexander Borodai told the RIA-Novosti agency that discussions
were under way with Ukrainian authorities on calling the short truce for
humanitarian reasons.

He said international organisations would be allowed into the region.

Ukraine
has been ripped apart by internal conflict since the overthrow of the
Moscow-backed regime of President Viktor Yanukovych, which led to
President Putin annexing the disputed Crimea region.

Outspoken: Rebel commander Igor Strelkov bragged on Twitter, ¿We warned you ¿ do not fly in ¿our sky¿¿ but deleted the tweet when the full horror of the disaster became clear

The
Russian-backed separatists, who want their own breakaway region linked
to Moscow, have already been accused by the authorities in Kiev of
shooting down military jets with missiles supplied by Russia.

Ukraine's
state security chief accused two Russian military intelligence officers
of involvement in the downing of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern
Ukraine on Thursday and said they must be punished for their 'crime'.

SBU chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko said he based his allegation on intercepts of phone conversations between the two officers.

'Now
you know who carried out this crime. We will do everything for the
Russian military who carried out this crime to be punished,' he told
journalists.

Fear: A relative of one suspected victim walks arrives at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on Thursday

Najib Razak, the Malaysian prime
minister, said: 'I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We
are launching an immediate investigation.'

Later,
addressing a press briefing, he described it as: 'A tragic day in a
tragic year', adding that the Malaysia Airlines jetliner did not make
any distress call before it went down in Ukraine, and that the flight
route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation
Organization.

Overcome: A female relative of one passenger weeps as she tells reporters in Kuala Lumpur she believe a relative of hers was on Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17

'The Ukrainian authorities believe that the plane was shot down,' Najib said in the statement.

'At
this stage, however, Malaysia is unable to verify the cause of this
tragedy. But we must, and we will, find out precisely what happened to
this flight. No stone will be left unturned.

'If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice.'

He said also that Malaysia was sending a special flight to Kiev with a disaster assistance and rescue team.

United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for 'a full and
transparent international investigation' into what brought down the
plane.

'I
am closely monitoring the reports, along with the International Civil
Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. There is clearly a need
for a full and transparent international investigation,' he said.

Grief tinged with anger: A woman lights a candle near a placard reading 'Stop Russian terrorism!' in front of the Dutch Embassy in Kiev. Pro-Russian rebels have denied involvement in the crash

Sympathy:A young Ukrainian girl and a man thought to be her father place flowers in commemoration of the crash victims

Mourning: People gather in front of the Embassy to pay tribute to the passengers on board the tragic flight

Why was MH17 flying through a warzone? European safety watchdog warned against using Ukraine airspace since APRIL

Air accident investigators are planning to inspect the proposed flight plan lodged by pilots on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

The 17-year-old jet was shot down over Donetsk in Eastern Ukraine despite commercial aircraft being warned against using the airspace because of the ongoing conflict.

One of the major questions is whether the Malaysian flight crew received the warning from flight safety officials about the risk to safety.

The jet was travelling at 33,000 feet at 490 knots when it disappeared from radar screens over Donetsk.

It is believed that the Malaysian Airlines pilots ignored several warnings to avoid the airspace over Ukraine. It is understood the Malaysian Airline jet used the Ukrainian route to save fuel as diverting north or south would have taken longer.

In April, the European Aviation and Safety Agency warned: ‘Taking into consideration the recent publication by the Russian Federation of a series of notices to airmen (NOTAMs) modifying the Simferopol FIR which is under the responsibility of Ukraine, and their intent to provide air traffic services (ATS) within this airspace, the Agency draws the aviation communities’ attention to the possible existence of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights.

The doomed flight on the tarmac of Amsterdam airport just hours before it was shot down over Ukraine

‘Due to the unsafe situation where more than one ATS provider may be controlling flights within the same airspace from 3 April 2014, 0600 UTC onwards, consideration should be given to measures to avoid the airspace and circumnavigate the Simferopol FIR with alternative routings. ‘

On July 8, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine closed its airspace to civilian aircraft after rebels shot a military transport aircraft that was flying over 20,000 feet.

The restriction, warned commercial aircraft from transiting

British aircraft were warned to avoid the area altogether. A Notice to Airmen, seen by Mail Online warned: ‘Due to the potential for conflicting air traffic control (ATC) instructions from Ukrainian and Russian authorities and for the related potential for misidentification of civil aircraft, UK aircraft operators are strongly advised to avoid, until further notice, the airspace over Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.’

The EASA supplied airlines with a list of alternative routes avoiding the conflict zone.

The US Federal Aviation Authority had also banned its aircraft from the Crimea region.

The suspected shooting down of a large passenger plane while flying at altitude presents airlines and their passengers with an extremely serious new development in air travel, according to aviation experts.

They also question the future of Malaysia Airlines - caught in the global glare of bad publicity following the disappearance of flight MH 370 earlier this year.

If today's incident is confirmed as a deliberate act then Ukraine airspace could well be closed down, meaning diversions for UK carriers who currently fly to and over the area.

‘This could be a very serious development,’ said David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal magazine.

He went on: ‘If reports are true, we are not talking about small-arm fire but serious weaponry. Normally even if planes fly over a war zone they can go high enough for the conflict not to be a worry.

‘Any decision about the opening or closing of Ukranian airspace will be a matter for the Ukrainians. It could well be that part or all of that airspace will now be closed.

‘Also, individual airlines, including UK carriers, could decide to detour around Ukraine.’

Mr Kaminski-Morrow continued: ‘It's really quite incredible that it should be Malaysia Airlines involved in this, after what happened earlier in the year.

‘This is not a small airline on a faraway route. This was a major airline flying from a European destination to a capital in the Far East. There must be serious concerns about how the airline can recover from this.

‘There will obviously be political as well as aviation concerns from all this. This will run and run.’

WHAT WILL MH-17 MEAN FOR AIR TRAVEL, AND WHAT WILL THE FUTURE HOLD FOR MALAYSIA AIRLINES?

The suspected shooting down of a large passenger plane while flying at altitude presents airlines and their passengers with an extremely serious new development in air travel, according to aviation experts.

They also question the future of Malaysia Airlines - caught in the global glare of bad publicity following the disappearance of flight MH 370 earlier this year.

If today's incident is confirmed as a deliberate act then Ukraine airspace could well be closed down, meaning diversions for UK carriers who currently fly to and over the area.

'This could be a very serious development,' said David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal magazine.

He went on: 'If reports are true, we are not talking about small-arm fire but serious weaponry. Normally even if planes fly over a war zone they can go high enough for the conflict not to be a worry.

'Any decision about the opening or closing of Ukranian airspace will be a matter for the Ukrainians. It could well be that part or all of that airspace will now be closed.

'Also, individual airlines, including UK carriers, could decide to detour around Ukraine.'

Mr Kaminski-Morrow continued: 'It's really quite incredible that it should be Malaysia Airlines involved in this, after what happened earlier in the year.

'This is not a small airline on a faraway route. This was a major airline flying from a European destination to a capital in the Far East. There must be serious concerns about how the airline can recover from this.

'There will obviously be political as well as aviation concerns from all this. This will run and run.'

The
crash comes four months after the mysterious disappearance of
Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 which is though to have crashed into the
Indian Ocean.

Two
weeks ago, investigators say what little evidence they have to work
with suggests the plane was deliberately diverted thousands of
kilometres from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the
Indian Ocean.

But a month
later, officials conceded the wreckage was not in that concentrated
area, some 1,000 miles off the northwest coast of Australia, and the
search area would have to be expanded.

The
next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a
year, covering some 60,000 sq km at a cost of AU$60 million ($56
million) or more. The search is already the most expensive in aviation
history.

The
new priority search area is around 2,000km west of Perth, a stretch of
isolated ocean frequently lashed by storm force winds and massive
swells.

Today's
downing of a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane is a grim reminder of
events more than 30 years involving a Korean Airlines flight.

In
an incident still shrouded in controversy and conspiracy theories, a
Korean Airlines flight 007, flying from Alaska to Seoul in South Korea,
was shot down by a Russian fighter on September 1 1983.

It had entered Soviet airspace and it later transpired that it had flown a long way off course. But this was the height of the Cold War and there were 61 Americans on board the doomed plane, so immediately recriminations began.

The Soviets assumed the passenger plane was a US spy aircraft while the US President Ronald Reagan called it 'a massacre' and 'a crime against humanity'.

Initially, the Soviet Union denied responsibility. Years later the Russians conceded that the Soviet action had been tragic but necessary, given just how far off course the civilian plane had got.

HIJACKINGS, CRASHES AND UNSOLVED MYSTERIES: A TIMELINE OF OTHER DISASTERS TO HIT MALAYSIA AIRLINES

December, 4 1977 - Flight MH653 was hijacked and crashed in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, killing all 100 people on board.

March 15, 2000 - Flight MH85, travelling to Kuala Lumpur to Beijin, was damaged by the chemical oxalyl chloride, which leaked from canisters during unloading. The Airbus A330-300 was sufficiently damaged to be written-off.

March 8, 2014 - Fight MH370, carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers, went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport.

The Boeing 777 has still yet to be found, despite months of extensive searches in the southern Indian Ocean where it was believed to have crashed. The next phase of the search is expected to start in August and take a year, covering some 60,000 sq km at a cost of AU$60 million ($56 million) or more.

March 24, 2014 - Flight MH066, travelling from Kuala Lumper to Incheon, South Korea, was forced to make an emergency landing in Hong Kong after its main electricity generator failed.

Passengers onboard the flight later revealed they were told to prepare for an emergency water landing. However, the plane landed safely in Hong Kong in the early hours of the morning.

April 21, 2014 - Flight MH192, carrying 166 people, was forced to turn back to Kuala Lumpur while flying to India after a tyre burst and the right-hand landing gear malfunctioned. Police later confirmed an investigation had begun into whether the flight had been interfered with before take-off.

April 24, 2014 - A plane belonging to Firefly Airlines (a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines) was forced to return to Penang after suffering problems with its landing gear.

A statement on the company's website said: 'This was because the aircraft's landing gear was unable to retract after being airborne. As safety is of utmost priority to Firefly Airlines, the aircraft was required to turn back to Penang.'

July 17, 2014 - Flight MH17 was shot down on the Russian-Ukraine border, killing all 295 people on board.